[Dovecot] Please help me resolve why mail isn't being delivered to virtual users

[Asheesh Laroia]

On Mon, 7 Jan 2008, Andrew Falanga wrote:

> I have to admit that I'm not quite sure why no one has responded to me about
> this one.  If I'm not providing enough information or incorrect information
> please tell me.  It's quite important that this e-mail system be working.

Well, I can try to help.  In general that's what we'll all do, but we have 
other things to do in our lives, too. (-:

Zeroth question: Why use virtual users rather than regular-old UNIX users? 
The regular way requires much less configuration, after all!

> I have created a system user ID called "vmail" which is referenced in my
> PostgreSQL database for UID/GID stuff.  All virtual user home directories and
> INBOXes are made owner "vmail" and group is "users."

First question:

If you do 'su - vmail -s /bin/sh' you will get a shell running as user 
vmail.  Run 'deliver' with the arguments it takes to deliver to a target 
user; does mail get delivered?

If not, we better fix that first!

> Originally, I had my sendmail "/etc/mail/aliases" file setup to "map" 
> all mail sent to these virtual users to the system user "vmail." 
> However, none of the virtual users were getting any mail and vmail was 
> just getting swamped. After doing more digging, I found that I just 
> didn't understand the home directories and INBOX, mbox and such. 
> That's what drove me to configuring what's in there now.

> Now, following directions on this WIKI page: 
> http://wiki.dovecot.org/LDA/Sendmail?highlight=%28deliver%29 I'm still 
> unable to get the e-mail working for them.  Continually, sendmail bails 
> with errors saying it, "Can't create output."  Because I am using *.mc 
> files, I made a new *.m4 file as directed in 
> /usr/share/sendmail/cf/mailer.

Can you turn up the verbosity from sendmail?

> Dovecot does allow the virtual users to login.  In fact, when I did, the 
> first time, there appears a "mail" directory in their home directories 
> after login. This would indicate to me that the login was successful. 
> Further, I cut/pasted a message sent to one of the virtual users from 
> the vmail INBOX (/var/mail/vmail) into the virtual user's INBOX 
> (/var/mail/jdunkin).  Then, logged in as this virtual user and ACTUALLY 
> got the mail.  I know this stuff works.  What must be done to make 
> sendmail do its thing for deliver?

So it sounds like Dovecot is fine and this is a sendmail question.

We can try to help, but I don't use Sendmail (I do use Dovecot...), so 
it's not clear that we'll be able to.

> What is necessary to fix this situation?

Reply with answers to 0 and 1 and we'll see where we can go.

-- Asheesh.

-- 
People are going to scream bloody murder about that.
 		-- Seen on linux-kernel